February 2008 Archives

www.meredithnhnews.com EDITORIAL

February 28, 2008 It's no secret that in the Lakes Region, there is a summer population and a winter population, and that this region has its share of seasonal residents. There's some gentle ribbing from those who "stick it out" and live in New Hampshire throughout the harsh winter months, which is only to be expected. We find it frankly disturbing, however, when seasonal residents are openly insulted and generalized at a public hearing, especially from the mouths of public officials, even when speaking as citizens and not as officials. At the latest Moultonboro selectmen's meeting, a public hearing on SB2 had some questioning whether seasonal residents cared more about the bottom line on their tax bill or about what happened in Moultonboro. Judging by the number of out-of-state addresses this paper is forwarded to in the winter, it's a safe bet that seasonal residents want to know what's going on in this area, even when they are elsewhere. The attitude we're seeing from some is one that is found in grade school – when students work on a group project, the person who doesn't attend the project meetings is thought to be the least deserving of the final grade. This works just fine in school, but in the world of town government, it's a little different. No matter who spent what amount of time in discussion, everyone contributes through taxes, both seasonal and full-time residents. A seasonal resident paying taxes on a property assessed for $350,000 pays no less in taxes than a full-time resident with a property of the same value. Whether they choose to buy a plane ticket to attend Town Meeting or not, or fill out an absentee ballot under SB2 or not, they're paying full taxes, and only getting a half-year's worth of services. Whether SB2 ends up passing or failing, the contribution of seasonal residents should not be denigrated, and the residents reduced to faceless personalities who only care about their bottom line. After all, it's those tax dollars that allow folks to consider capital projects. They may not be here year-round, but seasonal residents deserve the same respect and consideration given to full-time residents. If this is the attitude that Moultonboro's seasonal residents are faced with, who could blame them for retreating to Florida or Arizona?

February 28, 2008 To the Editor: In a most amazing statement by Moderator Borrin at the recent School District Public Hearing on SB2 and again during the selectman's hearing on SB2, he indicated that those who would rather vote by ballot either within the privacy of a voting booth "hiding behind a curtain" (his words, not mine) or by absentee ballot, had less courage than those dedicated souls that are able to make it to the town and school district meetings. Can we assume that as the chief election official in the town (Town Moderator as defined by RSA) he meant that hundreds of disenfranchised voters mean less to him than having the courage to stand before a stacked audience of prejudiced voters to muster up a vote against them? I can tell you as a business owner, a parent having had kids in school and as a member of the community: it is easier to stay home. I will also tell you courage or cowardice has nothing to do with it. Because under the present forum, any one voter innocently going to "the purest form of democracy" to express their opinion is like leading the lamb to slaughter. I have seen the intimidation, the bullying, the impatience with the inexperienced participant, the arrogance of decades at the helm, and the cavalier behavior that is common from the podium all too often. No, setting yourself up for this kind of treatment in order to express one's opinion is not courage; it is stupidity. Setting this allegation aside, SB2 is not about "cutting taxes with large groups of absentee ballots" (his contention not mine) nor is it about having to run for office to demonstrate one's dedication to his community, nor is it "how we are going to 'getcha' by undermining the present process." SB2 simply is a voting initiative that allows all registered voters to vote on the warrant articles. I know this is a simple concept for some of our town fathers to wrap their minds around, but not everyone is able to actually be present at the town and school district meetings. Should this simple fact deny those taxpaying, registered resident voters the right to have a say in how their tax dollar is spent? Their reply is that you have the opportunity to be there, discuss, and vote along with the rest of them; if that does not fit your schedule or your needs, then tough beans. Besides it is dangerous to allow you uneducated voters to vote; only those insiders that have stuck with the process all throughout the year and fully understand all concepts of every article should be allowed the vote. By this standard we ought not to be voting on people for the office of selectmen unless we know ahead of time how they will represent us on all issues all the time. But they (all but one) just did a 180° flip-flop on their supporting the multi-million dollar recreation center. I vote. I vote at primaries, local elections, state and national elections. I enjoy the process of taking my ballot and filling it out and either mailing it in by absentee or going behind the stripped curtains (spineless as that may seem to Mr. Borrin) and handing my ballot to the moderator. However, if you are not physically there at the Town Meeting, your right to vote is being denied. Please vote yes on SB2 whether you live in Moultonboro, Meredith, Center Harbor or Sandwich. Vote for the true purest form of democracy. Rick Heath Moultonboro

www.citizen.com

February 28, 2008 To the Editor: Can't believe the selectman voted 4-1 on the petition warrant article that would give $375,00 to the Recreation Strategic Planning Team. I thought this was put on the back burner for two years. These are bad economic times. We do not need the senior center. Stop making the people think it is a good thing for them. No, it is not. If the taxes keep going up the seniors will lose there homes, and that is what the townspeople do not want. They said they got 300 signatures from the people in town that want the Senior Center. What about the rest? I guess we need to get 301 signatures that say no we don't. Now what! We should be watching how we spend our tax dollars. The selectmen are not in our best interest, only the special interest. So people of the town of Moultonboro, listen up and make sure you vote for SB2. Be not afraid. Be afraid if you do not vote and let the selectmen vote for you. We as taxpayers should have a say in where our hard-earned money goes. Anna de Rose Moultonboro

by Sarah Schmidt sschmidt@salmonpress.com
February 28, 2008 MOULTONBORO — The second SB2 petition in as many years in Moultonboro touched off a hotbed of debate at last week's hearing on the potential voting change, as residents sounded off on both sides of the issue. "SB2 - to be, or not to be, that is the question," said Selectman Ed Charest, summing up the entire purpose of the hearing in his opening remarks. The evening switched back and forth between proponents and opponents of SB2, with Charest and Al Hume presenting arguments against and for SB2, respectively. Charest said that he had researched the matter the last year, when the first SB2 petition came to Moultonboro, and said that other towns in New Hampshire that adopted SB2 had lower turnouts at deliberative sessions and fewer municipal services available. Charest said that he believed SB2 placed convenience over discussion and that it would give more control of the town over to the state. Hume countered that roughly 9 percent of the voting population came to Town Meeting last year, and 3 percent to the School District Meeting, arguing that ballot voting in SB2 would allow more people to decide on budgetary issues. Listing many situations in which people are unable to attend Town Meeting due to job, family, or infirmity, Hume noted that having a deliberative session a month before the vote allowed people to take time and consider their vote carefully, and its effect on them and the community.

 

www.citizen.com

February 28, 2008
Editor, The Citizen:

It might not have escaped your notice that there is frustration here in Moultonborough over the lack of respect that citizens get when we ask our local government to be responsive to the needs of the entire community.

After last week's meetings, this frustration has now bubbled over into a citizen write in campaign for the two Selectmen seats and Town moderator's office.

I will be running against the current Town Moderator.

Gary Torressen and Al Hume will be running for the Selectmen seats.

The primary reason that I am running for the office is to bring moderation back into the position of Town Moderator. The duties of the Moderator include presiding over town meetings, regulating the business thereof, deciding questions of order, making public declarations of each vote passed, and prescribing rules of proceeding which may be altered by the town as need. They do not include injecting personal opinion and agenda, admonishing citizens who prefer the secret ballot or any personal invective into public discussion forums.

Moreover I plan on bringing to the office the facilities of Robert's Rules of Order to allow all points of view to be heard and deliberated in a modern, democratic, fair and balanced way.

www.citizen.com               

February 27, 2008


Editor, The Citizen:

In a most amazing statement by Moderator Borrin at the recent School District Public Hearing on SB2 and again during the selectman's hearing on SB2, he indicated that those who would rather vote by ballot, either within the privacy of a voting booth "hiding behind a curtain" (his words, not mine) or by absentee ballot, had less courage than those dedicated souls that are able to make it to the town and school district meetings. Can we assume that as the chief election official in the town (Town Moderator as defined by RSA) he meant that hundreds of disenfranchised voters mean less to him than having the courage to stand before a stacked audience of prejudiced voters to muster up a vote against them? I can tell you as a business owner, a parent having had kids in school and as a member of the community, it is easier to stay home. I will also tell you courage or cowardice has nothing to do with it. Because under the present forum, any one voter innocently going to "the purest form of democracy" to express their opinion is like leading the lamb to slaughter. I have seen the intimidation, the bullying, the impatience with the inexperienced participant, the arrogance of decades at the helm, and the cavalier behavior that is common from the podium all too often. No, setting yourself up for this kind of treatment in order to express one's opinion is not courage; it is stupidity.

Setting this allegation aside, SB2 is not about "cutting taxes with large groups of absentee ballots" (his contention not mine) nor is it about having to run for office to demonstrate one's dedication to his community, nor is it "how we are going to "getcha" by undermining the present process". SB2 simply is a voting innitiative that allows all registered voters to vote on the warrant articles. I know this is a simple concept for some of our town fathers to wrap their minds around, but not everyone is able to actually be present at the town and school district meetings. Should this simple fact deny those taxpaying, registered resident voters the right to have a say in how their tax dollar is spent? Their reply is that you have the opportunity to be there, discuss, and vote along with the rest of them; if that does not fit your schedule or your needs, then tough beans. Besides it is dangerous to allow you uneducated voters to vote; only those insiders that have stuck with the process all throughout the year and fully understand all concepts of every article should be allowed the vote. By this standard we ought not to be voting on people for the office of selectman unless we know ahead of time how they will represent us on all issues all the time. But they (all but one) just did a 180-degree flip flop on their supporting the multi-million dollar recreation center.

We all have priorities in life. Family, job or business, church, recreation, community obligations, etc. are some that come to mind. This writer would suggest a blend of some or all of these, and others I have missed, would be a healthy and natural prescription or blueprint with which to live life. That is not to say that if I put business higher on the list than recreation, or if my neighbor puts recreation higher than family, one of us is right and the other is wrong. There are no laws governing how we make our priority list or even that we need to have the list at all. I vote. I vote at primaries, local elections, state and national elections. I enjoy the process of taking my ballot and filling it out and either mailing it in by absentee or going behind the striped curtains (spineless as that may seem to Mr. Borrin) and handing my ballot to the Moderator. If you are not physically there at the town meeting, your right to vote is being denied. Why are we allowed to mail in our vote on all other aspects of government but not for town meetings, "that purest form of democracy"? How is this called democracy at all, let alone democracy in the purest form?

Please vote yes on SB2 whether you live in Moultonborough, Meredith, Center Harbor or Sandwich. Vote for the true purest form of Democracy.

Rick Heath

Moultonborough

www.citizen.com

February 20, 2008

Editor, The Citizen: Living in Meredith is like living in the all American town. Only on special days do we face calamitous sub-zero temperatures like the Packers faced in their Playoff game with the NY Giants. Our kids spent their youth on skis, like those in Wisconsin. We raise our "above average" kids to be leaders. Some will be football greats like Brett Favre, Eli Manning and Tom Brady who are amazing, awesome, majestic, winners. We could keep our town at center stage if we limited tax increases and do not surrender to the big spenders who believe in continued borrowing for capital expenditures. Each year we dig ourselves deeper into debt. Borrowing and more borrowing and constantly raising taxes is unsustainable. We don't want to become financially strapped. The sobering reality is that we have some distressed citizens living in Meredith. Let's put our financial house in order and be in control of our destiny. We suggest freezing the budget for a year at a zero percent increase with no new spending, or hiring. Let's watch the economy before we rush into more borrowing. Do we really want to risk our town's future with more debt and higher taxes?

February 21, 2008 To the Editor: I am writing in support of SB2 for Moultonboro. The Moultonboro School Board prefers a " no" vote on SB2, evidenced by a 5-0 vote at the recent public hearing, thereby opposing full participation in government. My question to the school board (and all others that oppose SB2) is why? The only thing SB2 will change is when and how you vote. Everything else remains the same. All warrant articles are discussed and amended during the Deliberative Session in early February. Voting on those articles takes place 30 days later during Election Day, on the second Tuesday in March in the privacy of a ballot box. No more disenfranchisement and no more fear of hostile and vocal special interests. Vote yes to SB2 on March 11 and allow all citizens to participate in our town's future. Paul Punturieri

February 21, 2008 To the Editor: In the Feb. 7 issue of the Meredith News were two letters in support of SB2. I wish to thank the authors of those letters for their continued efforts to make the voting public aware of this Senate Bill and its benefits. As a resident and taxpayer in the town of Moultonboro, I am very much in support of SB2. I voted for it last year and I will certainly vote for it again this coming March. For me personally, SB2 holds one great benefit. It would provide me with the ability to cast my vote for each and every warrant article on the proposed yearly budget. I would not have to make sure that I attended the Town Meeting to express my vote or opinion on a particular warrant article or even the whole budget for that matter and then hope or assume that my hand is counted accordingly. With SB2, my vote, for or against, can and will be counted, period! The town meeting this coming March is going to be an especially important one for me and I am sure for many other residents and taxpayers who are concerned with keeping our town budget and our tax rate at an affordable level. Of the many articles to be discussed and voted on at this year's meeting will be items for the proposed multimillion dollar community/senior center, any expense for which I am adamantly against. Personally, I am more concerned with being able to maintain the expenses I already have. Expenses like my mortgage, current property taxes, federal taxes, insurances, heating fuel, groceries, home maintenance, medical, dental, vehicle payment, gasoline and maintenance. The only thing I have run out of in that list is money. Having my property taxes increase by any amount, whether estimated or projected, to support a town-owned country club, festooned with a rooftop walking track and wooded paths where people can walk their pets, disguised behind a sign that says Community/Senior Center is not a priority to me. It's a ridiculous luxury and an expense that I can't afford! Unfortunately, I will be unable to attend this year's Town Meeting to express my opinion on this particular article, although the previous paragraph clearly states my feelings. I only wish that SB2 was currently in place so that I would have the opportunity to cast an official vote on all of this year's various warrant articles and budget, anonymously or otherwise. Absentee ballots are available for those people who are unable to attend the polls on Election Day; this absentee ballot allows us the opportunity to still cast our vote for elected officials. This ability is a great benefit, but one that we can improve upon. I feel that it is just as important if not more so, that all taxpayers and voting residents have the ability and the opportunity to express where and how their tax dollars are spent, whether or not they can, can't, do or don't attend their Town Meeting. SB2 would give us all that ability. SB2 would give all of us a voice and a choice that many of us currently don't have, for whatever our reasons may be. With public awareness, continued support and your vote, hopefully SB2 will come to Moultonboro. I support SB2 and I wish to thank the Moultonboro Citizens' Alliance and its members for their vigilance and educational efforts. Keep up the good work making a difference. Mark E. Lamprey Moultonboro

http://www.moultonborough.org/2008%20Budget.pdf

Published in The Laconia Daily Sun                                      February 19, 2008

 

As a concerned senior, I feel strongly that we need SB2 in our town .I know that many special interest individuals and groups are against it because they may not get their way in the future, if it is passed.

 

Published in the Laconia Sun                                                 February 19,2008     

 

It's been hundreds of years since some brave people dumped tea in the water to demonstrate how irate they were to be taxed by the British without representation!

Editor, The Citizen:

Why is voting for SB2 essential in Moultonborough, Tuesday, March 11th, Ballot Day?

After the selectmen received the Recreation Strategic Planning Committee's "team" presentation on January 10, 2008, of the $10 million dollar Recreations Projects, the Selectmen had words of deep concern and financial woes. The Selectmen said although it was a good idea, it could and should wait a few years considering the federal, state, and local concerns for economic and financial distress that may affect us all.

State Representative Betsy Patten stated, "We need a reality check on what we can afford to pay for." Rep. Patten has shown deep concerns about how the state under financed the state Retirement Fund and the imminent forecast of Moultonborough becoming a new donor town again, but to the tune of $10-11 million dollars.

Selectman Ed Charest reminds us of a number of big ticket items we have to pay for in the very near future (Ossipee Mountain Road Reconstruction, newly designed Recycling Complex, and all the every day necessities — Police, Fire, Public Works, and expanding town government). The Selectmen after hearing this bleak financial future were 5 to zero against the town voting in favor of expending such large amounts of money at this time. Again, the Selectman chose 5 to 0 against expending any town funds for additional recreational projects this year.

Senate Bill 2 works like this: 1. It does not change town government. 2. (SB) It only changes when and how you vote. Under SB2 voter participation increases because you vote in the privacy of your booth and voting is an all day affair., 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. If, for any reason, you are unable to attend, absentee ballots are available to make your vote count. SB2 is all inclusive, allowing the disabled, the infirm, our proud military away from home, and retirees and others away from Moultonborough. All can vote by absentee ballot.

This ballot voting day of March 11, 2008, is a critical vote for all taxpayers and citizens in Moultonborough. At this time, if you vote for Senate Bill 2, you will maximize participation (your vote) in the true feelings of Moultonborough citizens on all fiscal and financial spending that special interest groups have supported, are supporting, and will continue to support until the Middle Class is forced out of our town — the town we love — Moultonborough, New Hampshire.

The Moultonboro Citizen's Alliance needs your continued support. You may contact us at: MCA, PO Box 678, Moultonborough NH 03254; or email: moultonborocitizensallianceyahoo.com and visit us at our website: www.moultonborocitizensalliance.org.

Al Hume

Moultonborough

mnews@salmonpress.com

February 14, 2008 To the Editor: In the past several weeks you have heard from all sides of the SB2 arguments. There are those of us that have praised the genius of its simplicity in allowing all registered voters to have a say in their town. There are those that would have you believe it is the end of life as we know it; budgets will be slashed; department heads will face huge cuts; the selectmen's hands will be tied. All this back and forth… what is the truth about SB2? Let me give you some perspective of where SB2 is in New Hampshire and just how popular it has become in the short decade or so that it has been available vs. the 250 yrs of town meetings. • Excluding those larger cities that have no meetings, there are more people living in SB2 towns than Town Meeting towns. (427,942 vs. 421,091) Ref. NHCPPS • Of the 69 school districts that have adopted SB2 not one school district has rescinded. • Of the 60 towns that have opted for SB2, only three have rescinded. Two of them have a population of less than 380 souls. This indicates that town meetings there are social events and their budgets are very small. ($417,000 and $190,000) • Gilford, Alton, Wolfeboro, Ashland, New Hampton, Conway, Wakefield are local SB2 towns… no sky falling there. • Gov. Wentworth, Alton, Gilford, Madison, Mascoma Regional, Newfound Area, Rumney and Wakefield are local school districts with SB2… all good schools. In a 2000 study by the NH Center for Public Policy Studies, they discovered: • Voting on town spending issues increased by three fold with SB2. • Voting on school spending issues increased by five fold with SB2. • In two of the three years available for this study, towns and schools with SB2 "showed slightly greater rates of increase in voted appropriations." No slashed budgets here. Go to www.moultonborocitizensalliance.com for info and links to where you can find out more. Rick Heath Moultonboro

Please vote YES on SB2, March 11, 2008 from 7:00 AM to 7:00 PM

What is SB2?

SB2 is a form of Town Meeting that separates discussion from voting. All warrant articles are discussed and amended during the Deliberative Session in early February. Voting on those articles takes place 30 days later during Election Day, on the second Tuesday in March.

Unlike the current Town Meeting, SB2 allows EVERY VOTER to vote via paper ballot—NOT show of hands--on ALL THE ARTICLES in the town and school district warrants, in the PRIVACY of a voting booth, from 7:00 AM to 7:00 PM, OR by ABSENTEE BALLOT, something that is NOT possible under the current system.

This eliminates the disenfranchisement of those voters who work out of state, are traveling, in the military and/or out of country; retirees away for the winter, students away from home, elderly or ill unable to go to the usual late night meeting.

Most importantly, it eliminates the intimidation that is a large part of the present forum, having to argue your point of view in front of a hostile crowd full of special interest groups.

The ONLY CHANGES under SB2 will be WHEN and HOW you vote:

EVERYTHING ELSE REMAINS THE SAME!!!

The most common arguments against the adoption of SB2 are:

1. Voters will not be informed about the issues—FALSE. In fact, they will be better informed than today.  They can attend the Deliberative Session and then have 30 days AFTER the Session to get additional information, discuss with other voters, read pro and con articles, view the VCR tape of the deliberation session (it will be in the library) and make up their minds before voting in the privacy of the voting booth on the second Tuesday in March, without the pressures/intimidation of open voting at town/school meetings.  The consensus is that voters in towns that adopted SB2 are better informed NOW than ever before.  The Meredith News will print the warrant articles. You can write your decisions on that article at home and take it into the voting both with you for reference.

2. No one will vote—FALSE  Not only will they vote at their leisure between 7:00 AM and 7:00 PM (instead of 5-15 minutes during Town/School meetings) but MORE people will vote because absentee ballots are available if a voter cannot be present, which is not the case during current town/school meetings 

3. Municipal employees will NEVER get a raise---FALSE. They will because raises are up to the Selectmen and Department Heads, not the voters, and are proposed as part of the budget or as warrant articles. 

4. No union contract will ever be approved---FALSE.  They will if the voters approve the warrant article, same as today.

5. No budget will ever pass—FALSE.  They will because all budgets are warrant articles up for consideration 

6. People will vote their wallets---TRUE. They always do. But based on SB2 voting experience, giving voters more time to research and think about the warrants, the vote against warrants is no greater than at town meeting.  An informed voter is a better voter!

7. If the budget is defeated, the town/school will have no money the following year—FALSE.  If the budget is defeated in March, the Selectmen are automatically authorized to hold a second vote 30 days later on the budget ONLY. If it still fails, the default budget will provide the same operating funds as the previous year plus adjustments for contractual obligations, i.e., raises due to collective agreements, etc. The difference is that the Town/School will have to operate with last year’s amounts, not their new, proposed figures 

If you have any questions or comments, please write us at Moultonboro Citizens Alliance, PO Box 678, Moultonborough, NH 03254 or email us at MoultonboroCitizensAlliance@yahoo.com

Please vote YES on SB2

Visit our website MoultonboroCitizensAlliance.org

These are the “disenfranchised” currently unable to vote at the Town and School District meetings who would gain their right to vote with SB2: 

Those who are serving their country in the military. 

Those with no means of transportation. 

Those with health conditions that prevent them from attending lengthy meetings. 

Those who are parents or single parents with young children. 

Those who are sick.

Those students who are studying out-of-state

Those who are incapacitated hospitalized. 

 Those retirees (senior citizens) wintering in a warmer climate.

Those emergency service professionals on duty.

Those doctors, nurses and other medical professionals on duty. 

Those public employees on duty. 

Those working at a second job or working the second shift. 

Those who are away on business. 

Those who are unable to attend because of personal or professional commitments.

Those intimidated by open voting.

Those who dislike politics (we understand). 

Ordinary people from a diversity of backgrounds who all deserve the Right to Vote.

February 20, 2008

Editor, The Citizen:

I have to respond to the letter to the editor from John St. Amand in Monday's Citizen. I personally resent the statement that there has been opposition to the community center from a "few vocal people". How many is a few? We will never know unless it is put to a ballot box vote, where all voices can be heard.

Will the proponents of the community center please for once try to understand what the "opposition" is truly saying. We are not saying we don't need or want a community center. We are not opposed to projects that better our community. We simply want a more thoughtful, inclusive process with clear costs and impact to our tax rate. We are concerned about the extreme haste to get this project approved at all cost before we even complete a master plan for Moultonborough. I also have to add that not all in our town are as well off as Mr. St. Amand and I hope that our fellow townspeople recognize that fact when voting to increase our property taxes.

Paul Punturieri

Moultonboro

http://www.meredithnhnews.com/
 
by Sarah Schmidt
Staff Reporter write the author
 
January 10, 2008
MOULTONBORO — The Board of Selectmen voted to create an Advisory Budget Committee to serve until Town Meeting of 2009, anticipating the possibility that the town could vote for an elected committee this March.

The motion, however, was greeted with skepticism from several residents in attendance at the meeting, who wondered aloud if the approval of the Advisory Budget Committee by both boards made the budget committee a "done deal." Board of Selectmen Chair Karel Crawford asserted that the board had not yet discussed the matter and that she had no idea what the other selectmen thought of the idea.

"There's a certain segment of the population that feels you're out to get them," said Selectman Ed Charest. "We're not, we're very open. It's time to get away from the 'gotcha' attitude."

Amid fervent questioning from residents in attendance, the board voted to create the committee in order to "set in place the infrastructure" for such a committee. If residents vote in favor of a different board wherein members are elected, the advisory board appointed to work during the next fiscal year would have to run for election in 2009. This action follows the unanimous vote of the School Board last month to establish an Advisory Budget Committee. The hearing last week was attended jointly by the Board of Selectmen and the School Board.

http://www.meredithnhnews.com/

July 12, 2007 To the Editor: How many is "many, many?" That is the question I asked of the Moultonboro Recreation Strategic Planning Committee while attending the listening session on June 28. They use the term "many, many" to tell us what people have said they want in a new Community Center. My question asked for a quantitative answer – is it three or 30 or 300? The committee will not put a number on it – not even an estimate. Also when I asked how much the center will cost I was told I was ahead of the curve and that they don't know the cost. I can assure you it will cost "many, many" millions of dollars. How can anyone make an intelligent decision about a project if they do not know the cost? This project will affect all Moultonboro taxpayers. The questions we should all be asking are: - How much are the up front costs? - How much will it cost to run on a yearly basis? - How much will this project affect my annual taxes? Jim Morrison Moultonboro